In the past two years, many progressive changes have taken place in the way Bangalore manages its waste; changes that have influenced way waste is managed in the rest of Karnataka and even across India.

The illegal municipal solid waste management landfills at Mavallipura, apart from inflicting extensive damage on the local community, also point to a larger systemic failure in the management of our urban spaces. We may have turned our backs on the grave and urgent problem of waste disposal in our cities, but events that transpired at Mavallipura have demonstrated how far-reaching the consequences are of such irresponsible and unjust disposal of solid waste.

A Press Briefing

Written by Sruthi Subbanna

14 October, 2009

Proper management of solid waste produced by households is one of the biggest challenges faced by humanity today. This is especially true in cities across India, where poor land use planning providing community level solid waste management treatment facilities and poor management practices are creating havoc in local neighbourhoods and at dumpsites. Bangalore city itself generates over 3000 tonnes of solid waste each day, and most this is illegally dumped in the periurban areas of the city.

Mavallipura Landfill in Yelahanka, Bangalore under seige by villagers

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